Apple design executive behind Liquid Glass poached by Meta in major coup
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The departure extends an exodus of design talent suffered by Apple since the exit of visionary executive Jony Ive in 2019.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOS ANGELES - Meta Platforms has poached Apple’s most prominent design executive in a major coup that underscores a push by the social networking giant into artificial intelligence-equipped consumer devices.
The company is hiring Mr Alan Dye, who has served as the head of Apple’s user interface design team since 2015, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Apple is replacing Mr Dye with long-time designer Stephen Lemay, according to the people.
Apple confirmed the move in a statement provided to Bloomberg News.
“Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999,” chief executive Tim Cook said in the statement. “He has always set an extraordinarily high bar for excellence and embodies Apple’s culture of collaboration and creativity.”
The move represents a seismic shift in Silicon Valley and shows that Meta is committed to becoming a name-brand maker of hardware devices. For Apple, the departure extends an exodus of talent suffered by the design team since the exit of visionary executive Jony Ive in 2019.
Mr Dye revealed the June redesign of Apple’s software interface for iPhones, Macs and Apple Watch called Liquid Glass. He had taken on a more significant role at Apple after Mr Ive left, helping define how the company’s latest operating systems, apps and devices look and feel.
With Mr Dye’s hire, Meta is creating a new design studio and putting him in charge of design for hardware, software and AI integration for its interfaces.
He will be reporting to chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth, who oversees Reality Labs. That group is tasked with developing wearable devices, such as smart glasses and virtual reality headsets.
Mr Dye’s major focus will be revamping Meta’s consumer devices with AI features. He will serve as chief design officer for the group starting Dec 31.
His exit is a major loss for Apple, which had already been coping with some critical departures in recent weeks.
Mr Jeff Williams, the company’s long-time chief operating officer, retired in November. And AI head John Giannandrea just announced his departure this week, following years of struggles to catch up in AI. Apple’s former hardware chief Dan Riccio also retired in 2024.
The turnover is expected to continue, with many of the remaining top leaders, including Mr Cook, nearing typical retirement ages.
Mr Johny Srouji, Apple’s silicon chief, and Ms Lisa Jackson, Apple’s head of government environment initiatives, have both been evaluating their futures at the company, Bloomberg has reported. BLOOMBERG
